


reminiscing

by latenights



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Late Night Conversations, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 11:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16596800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latenights/pseuds/latenights
Summary: Their official relationship is still a little new and Niles is still afraid to mess things up. Not that he will, Odin is sure. He wants to prove to Niles that he deserves to have this. That he makes Odin shine brighter, not dimmer.





	reminiscing

When they first met, Niles had fixed him with the coldest glare he could muster, the intensity matched by his lord's own disdain. Perhaps Odin's introduction as master of the dark and unfathomable arcane arts didn't go over quite as well as he would have liked, but he thought that he would have won over their trust soon enough. 

The memory of it makes him chuckle from where he's pressed up against Niles. Beneath his resting head, Niles' heart speeds up as he wakes up. It's some odd hour in the morning when the sky is still dark (darker than usual anyway), but he's doesn't seem particularly bothered by this. Niles' hand just slides into Odin's hair to stroke it. Odin melts at the touch. 

"Bad dream again?" Niles slurs in his half-asleep state. That's just one of the things Niles gets about him. While he doesn't like that Niles startles awake from terrible memories far more often than he ever deserves, Odin is glad that he knows how it feels. Knows how to handle them. 

But on this night, the nightmares stay at bay for the both of them. Odin shakes his head. "Just woke up. No reason," he says. "And reminiscing."

Normally Niles would just go back to sleep if there was nothing wrong, but he's feeling chatty tonight it seems, because he asks, "What about? Was it something you're dying for us to repeat again?" Odin is always impressed how quickly Niles' brain works to plant in some sexual comment, even at this late hour. 

"I'd rather not repeat our disastrous first meeting my lunar prince... or maybe, that would be a great chance for me to have swept you off your feet from the very beginning."

Niles snorts. "I doubt it. You were not charming in the slightest."

"Says he who is in bed with his most uncharming man."

"Shush." Niles pulls at Odin's ear. "I still don't know how you did it. Must be part of your 'dark and unfathomable arcane arts'." 

Odin fake gasps. "You mean to insinuate that I've bewitched you with a forbidden spell? A diabolical love potion? Perish the thought!"

"I said shush," Niles emphasizes again. Odin just smiles up at him sheepishly. Even his whispering can get pretty loud. That's fine though. Odin is more than content just lying on Niles' chest, listening to his heartbeat, while Niles strokes his hair. It makes him feel a little spoiled really. Niles likes to do that, mostly because he rarely lets Odin do the same for him. That's fine too. Their official relationship is still a little new (they've been dancing around each other for far too long) and Niles is still afraid to mess things up. Not that he will, Odin is sure. He wants to prove to Niles that he deserves to have this. That he makes Odin shine brighter, not dimmer. He takes Niles' free hand and kisses his palm. 

When Odin finishes, Niles says, almost too soft to hear, "It's because I was afraid." 

Odin shifts to look at him. "Afraid?"

"That you were going to replace me. Tear down everything I've gained and worked for. My position. Leo's trust."

"But you've been there longer," Odin points out. "And Leo hated me too."

Niles doesn't meet his eyes. "You were good. Too good. I could see Leo getting softer towards you and..."

"And?"

Odin can see Niles hesitate. If you had to compare it, Niles, even with his rare confessions, had shared more about his past than Odin ever has. It's for a good reason that Odin doesn't tell him, but... sometimes it feels selfish and unfair of him when he sees how hard it is for Niles to share parts of himself. He opens his mouth to tell Niles that they should go back to sleep, but Niles speaks before he can. 

"The last family... if you can even call it that...." Niles sounds tired. Odin doesn't think it's from waking up in the middle of the night. "The last gang I was in just left me alone, bleeding on the castle floor without a second thought because I wasn't any use to them anymore. Then Leo hired me and I was useful. But then you came along and I thought eventually I'd just..." He trails off, still not looking at Odin.

It's not hard for Odin to guess what Niles meant to say next. He just reaches a hand out to cup Niles' cheek, pulls it to face him so he can plant a kiss on Niles' lips. "If you were a star in the cosmos, no god in their right mind would ever snuff you out," Odin assures wholeheartedly. Niles rolls his eye but his smile betrays his fondness. "Really, Leo would never replace you! Your skill is that of a mighty centaur."

"Yeah, I get that now, dork. That's why I'm in bed with you." 

"And," Odin continues (from Niles' second eye roll, much louder than necessary, but this was important), "no one would ever take your place in my heart either. You've lit an undying flame there, searing hot as the passion of our-"

"Alright, alright I get it, damn," Niles insists. Even if he's frowning in embarrassment, Odin can tell he's pleased. He knows Niles, much more than Niles thinks he does. But that's only because Niles doesn't even know how many walls he puts down when he's around Odin, and Odin is grateful for that trust. He was afraid of letting himself have the idea of them together, afraid of himself messing things up because he thought Odin would abandon him on a whim. What a silly man. Odin resolves to show him much more clearly from tonight onward, that his affections and loyalty are true.

He takes Niles' hand again, but to lace their fingers together this time. "Use my chest as a pillow for your slumber my lunar prince."

"After all your yelling, I don't even know if I can sleep at this point," Niles teases but lays his head there anyway. "Sleep too, dork. Leo's got a lot of errands for us tomorrow."

"After I lull you to sleep with a poem-"

"Shush now Odin."

Ah well. He'll serenade him in the morning.


End file.
